George Foreman 1973 vs Mike Tyson 1988, 15 Rounds.

People pick Foreman because short swarmers are made for him.

Ali actually beat Frazier 2 out of 3 and Ali left his true peak in the 60's.

and other stuff.

 

Foreman WISHES he could replicate what Holyfield did to Tyson. Foreman doesn't even know how to hold and tie a dude up. Foreman's going to outmaneuver Tyson? That's not his bag baby! Sure he can push Tyson back and then wait for a counter or a Tyson onslaught.

Nobody stands in front of Tyson, not even Foreman. Lewis didn't do it. Holyfield didn't do it. Foreman would get tagged to death and sample power shots rivaling his own.

If Ron Lyle can put Foreman on ***** street and looking for that soft spot on the canvas, I'm sure as **** positive Tyson could do the same!!

 

Problem with that is Frazier is no Tyson. Not even close. Frazier can't bomb on the outside, Tyson can. Watch Tyson bludgeon Berbick with shots coming from way outside.

 

Tyson was coming forward often. He seldom would be against Foreman.

 

I will just leave this here: https://tss.ib.tv/boxing/articles-o...e who covered boxing at,beat in April of 1991.

 

First of all: you can not compare Frazier with Tyson. They have totally different attributes. Thats like "Look how Tyson destroyed Big Bruno, he will wipe the floor with George" just becaus they have about the same size and both good Punchers.

I think it all depends on the first 2-3 interactions. If Foreman is not surprised by Tyson's rush...if he can manage the speed and doesn't have to take heavy hits in the first 2 minutes from which he doesn't fully recover. So if Tyson doesn't manage to get an advantage quickly, then i guess it's just a matter of time Big George will KO him. But even if Tyson gets the momentum early, George still has his great chin and the punchers chance for the rest of the Fight.

 

Brilliant post, one of the best anyone has ever made on this forum.

 

Holyfield did that to a past prime Tyson, he'd get his ass whooped by a prime Tyson.

 

I think George was being a little silly in the late '80s when he stated on national tv he could knock out Mike in two rounds. I just can't see the Foreman who got hit so much by Qawi lasting too long against prime Mike.

If facing '73 George, though...it's hard to envision Mike doing anything besides what he always did: come forward. Of course, he was an incredible cyclone coming in. But coming forward doesn't work against prime George. George had too much firepower (and underrated hand speed himself). I can't imagine George just letting Mike maul him. He'd shove him off and push him into range.

Uhm, I must admit there are problems with this article, as I believe these are at best second-hand sources. It's quite possible D'amato would have seen George as a terrible fit for Mike...however, it's hard to believe Cus would have thought George capable of beating prime Mike when (as mentioned above) Qawi got away with landing so many punches. Mike was not just a "real" heavyweight, but was faster and most certainly hit harder than Qawi ever did. I see George being overwhelmed in the 80s by Mike.

90s George against post-prison Mike is more problematic. I doubt Mike could stop him, but he could certainly decision him. I don't know, I can't commit on that time period, I think that would have gone either way, though Mike was still pretty young and, though not the awesome terror he was in the 90s, still had a great, fast shot.

 

Exactly. Tyson would land far more and take him out.

 

People really think Tyson fights like Frazier?

 

I do agree, Tyson could take a whooping, and he took good shots from Gross, Tucker, Bruno, and Ruddock, all of whom he beat. The thing that gets me is that Douglas and Holyfield stopped him and pounded him, but they were not big punchers imo.

 

They weren't the same fighter for sure, far from it.

But both had varying degrees of trouble when they weren't coming straight in, they both had very underrated defenses, they both underutilized their jabs, both had great power in the left hook. Both are often, quite understandably, considered swarmers.

The differences are more than significant, however. Frazier had a stronger chin, he never stopped getting up after Foreman downed him and looked ready to get back to fighting each time (Mike, once he was down, was always on his way to being stopped); Mike had much better overall power and a right that put Joe to shame; Mike had better overall hand speed.

Frazier only got beaten by the top ATGs...can't say that about Mike. Mike did however terrorize and clean out the heavyweight division like no one else in the past...geez, since Joe Louis. Though Holmes was without question ring rusty and far past his peak, nobody beat him like Mike did...ever. Joe did a great job beating the people put in front of him, but guys like Liston were conspicuously absent as a deserved title defense during his reign.

It's hard for me see Foreman not dealing with a swarmer like Mike the same way he dealt with Frazier. Check out the fight (George and Joe) closely to see just how well George prepared for his attack. Then check out prime Mike and the way he came in. Is anybody here positive George wouldn't be able to smother the shorter Mike's rushes the way he did Joe's? Safe to say George was stronger than Mike physically.

I should mention, I don't qualify as a Tyson-hater, I have him on my top ten ATGs and consider him a very great heavyweight. Though my favorite fighter is Holmes, I believe Mike would have at least knocked him down and given him a terrific fight during both their primes (I do pick Holmes in 11 though).

 

The thing is that Frazier got TKO'ed in round 2 and 5. He also got knocked down by single punches meanwhile Tyson took a pounding for 10 rounds by Douglas and took a 5 punch combination to the face and he still ended the fight on his feet, it took Holyfield dirty tactics and loads of combinations to win by TKO in round 11. It took Lennox Lewis 8 rounds of hitting him with deadly punches, Lewis in the documentary said himself that he was surprised how Tyson lasted so long in the fight.

Frazier got TKO'ed early without taking a beating meanwhile Tyson got punched the **** out of him for at least 8 rounds and he ended every fight on his feet.

 

Mike was knocked out by Douglas, he got on his feet at the very end of the count, out on his feet. Mike was similarly done at the end of Lewis, he only got up because he knew the fight was being stopped. Maybe watch those endings again.

Nobody said he didn't have heart, but once Mike went down, he was on his way to getting stopped. Every time.

Frazier got up against Bonavena, twice, and beat him. Foreman got knocked silly and almost out by Lyle, then knocked the crap out of him.